Join the Unbounded

Street racing has never been as ferocious as it is in Ridge Racer Unbounded on PlayStation 3. In among the districts of Shatter Bay, you’ll discover that nothing is off limits in your quest for utter domination.

As part of the notorious Unbounded gang, you’ll thunder through the streets of the city in a bid to prove your racing talent and sign your name on the map in melted tyre rubber. Yet there are no crash barriers or tyre walls protecting the skyscrapers and pavements of this shimmering metropolis – the city itself takes the impact.

Petrol stations, lamp posts, parked cars and pillars explode into clouds of twisted metal and brick as you plough through the streets. There’s no need to ease up on the accelerator when the buildings of Shatter Bay act as your brakes, and as the buckled bicycles and splintered trees mount up in your wake, the prize money in your account grows.

Tyre smoke billows, dust and debris fill the screen and frenetic beats soundtrack your race, keeping the adrenaline flowing and heightening your senses. If you look closely you’ll spot shortcuts through alleys and even whole buildings. Not too closely, though. This is a game to take in at lightning speed – you'll get a chance to savour the city when it’s yours.

Drive, destroy, dominate

Get behind the wheel of a high velocity wrecking ball and smash your own path to the front of the pack in Ridge Racer Unbounded. Nothing, not even city blocks, should get in the way of coming first.

As you launch into a race there are two driving factors to consider: taking the chequered flag first and grinding your opponents into dust. Yet winning is not enough. You need to let your rivals know you’ll take no prisoners come the green light by causing as much havoc as possible on your way to the finish line. Your secret weapon? Extreme drifting.

Scream round corners by pressing and, crucially, holding the Circle button all the way through your slide. Not only is going sideways the fastest way to tackle sharp turns, you’ll also fill up your power gauge for a speed boost, perfect for ramming your rivals off the road and crashing through walls to discover secret routes.

Dominate events and rack up awards for your drifting, speeding and destructive skills to gain experience points, the currency that unlocks ever more powerful cars. Even if you fail to pass a certain race, you’ll increase your rank and unlock a vehicle that could be the key to success. Just keep driving – through Shatter Bay, into opponents and up the leader boards.

Create anything, demolish everything

With Shatter Bay a sea of rubble and smoking wrecks, it’s time to visit the City Creator mode to engineer your own circuits. Tools and building blocks are unlocked with experience points earned by racing through the single player campaign, so whenever you want to add a special new segment to your track, destruction will aid your creation.

When you’ve struck the perfect balance between speed and danger, adding plenty of objects for drivers to obliterate, you can share your tracks with friends via PlayStation Network. Often, the best inspiration can be found in the Time Attack events in Shatter Bay. These are full of jumps, hairpin bends and tunnels, just the sort of thing you’ll want to challenge your friends with.

Make sure you’re not missing anything by going out on a test run around your circuit, then throw down the gauntlet to up to seven friends and challenge them on your own turf. Every track from the single player mode is available to race against online competitors, although there’s nothing like racing in your own backyard to help you gain the upper hand…